It is officially ON!

Under the Snow I - Acrylic on 12" x 12" canvas, 2011

Under the Snow II - Acrylic on 12" x 24" canvas, 2011

After the longest break from painting I've had since I was 19, I am back to painting and I couldn't feel better about it! I never questioned returning to painting, I knew I would eventually. I didn't force it, I let myself have the time I needed to take a step back and remember why I do this, what I love about it, and to reclaim the JOY of painting. I won't get into the things that dampened my inspiration - I don't feel like giving them any power since I've learned what I needed to and am ready to move on. But I will say this - it is never over. If you are ever an artist, you are never NOT an artist, even if you don't pick up a brush or a sculpting tool or whatever it is you use/do for some time. To any artists out there that have experienced or are experiencing a lack or inspiration or an artist's block, my advice is to just wait it out. It will come again and when it does you'll be refreshed and so inspired.

In my time away, I've spent a good amount of time developing my stamp shop, Green Garden Stamps. I've also spent a lot of time creating, promoting, and managing the Fine Art Friday movement and the Finding Fine Art team on Etsy and blog. I think this has helped me so much - taking a step away from my own work and focusing on a larger community of artists to support got me excited about art in general again. There is still plenty of work to do regarding those projects, but the foundation is laid and now is the perfect time to get back into my own work.

These two pieces are the first to be completed out of a batch of several canvases in progress. I'm working on a larger square canvas right now that is next in line and I'm just loving the bursts of color and the playfulness of these new works.

Under the Snow alludes to the hopefulness I have to have in a record breaking, hard core winter here in New England. Otherwise I just might get buried by cabin fever under all of this snow and ice. It has been INSANE and the snow just keeps on coming! I'm quite thankful for the timing of my return to painting because I'll be leaning on it to get me through the rest of this monstrous winter.